Musical instrument.



No. 8515634. PATENTED APR. 23, 1907. T. A. & J. B. CONNOLLY. MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLIOATION FILED JAN. 28, 1907.

' 2 SHEETS-SHBBT 1.

[N VENTORS,

vml .14 a bu No. 651,634. PATENTED APR. 23, 1907. T. A. & J. 'B. OONNOLLY.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 28, 1907.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

UNITE STATES PATENT OFFICE.

THOMAS A. CON NOLLY AN JOSEPH B. CON N OLLY,OF WASHINGTON,

* DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

MUSICAL INSTRUMENT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 23, 1907.

Application filed January 28, 1907. Serial No 354. 285.

T allfwhoml it may concern:

Be it known that we, THOMAS A. CON- NOLLY and JOSEPH B. (JONNOLLY, citizens of the United States, residing at Washington, in the District of Columbia, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements in Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification,

This invention has relation to musical instruments and has for its object the provision of an instrument, in which the'principle of the phonograph or graphophone is applied to I the production of the tonesof the musical scale by the movement of keys, as in the piano forte, organ, or other key board instrument.

This invention has for its further object, the provision of an instrument, in which the tones of the musical scale represented by sound grooves or undulating lines, as in the phonogragh or graphophone, may The produced or played either by hand, and according to the skill and taste of the performer or by automatic means.

This invention has for its further object, the provision of an instrument, embodying the principles of the phonograph or graphophone, whereby the tones of difierent'kinds' of musical instruments may be reproduced in any deslred sequence or combination to pro duce melodies, airs, chords, harmonies or other musical. effects, by manual performance on a key board or by devices, similar to those 5 in use for the automatic playing of music on pianos, organs, and other key board instru ments.

The instrument embodying our invention is preferably a key board instrument of the Olavier type, that is with the key board constructed and arranged as in the piano forte for the production of tone and semitone intervals according to the chromatic scale and the tone capacity compass or range may be of any desiredextent. he tones or musical sounds are. produced by the vibration of a dia hragm or diaphragms by a stylus or sty uses operated by the undulations of sound grooves, or lines formed on a disk or disks, cylinder or cylinders, the appropriate stylus or needle for each tone being brought into operative relation to the proper tone roove by the depression of its corresponding ey., The sound grooves, instead of being spiral or volute are closed circles, each groove being adapted to produce a single note or toneand to continue sounding said note or tone so long as its stylus is in contact with it. In a tone scale-producing cylinder the sound grooves which are preferably those having lateral undulations, are located at regular intervalsalong the surface of the cylinder and the grooves for any given instrumental reproduction are at equal distances apart. The styluses or reproducing needles for all the dii'l'erent notes or tones are either mounted on a single sound transmitting rod or on different rods, the end or ends of which are in close contact with the lever or levers or a sound box or sound boxes, having suitable diaphragms, or said needles are carried respectively by vibratory levers mounted on separate sound boxes and accordingly as each stylus or needle for a given tone is operated by a different key "from that of the others, any tone or combination of tones will be produced, according to the number and order in which the keys are struck. And if the sound grooves in the cylinder are all records of the same instrument, as for instance, a piano, the playing of the instrument as in playing a piano will produce the same tones as-the plano. Moreover, if the cylinder haverecorded on it, in the order of the muslcal scale, the tones of different instruments choral or orchestral effects are producible and the tones of any two, or more instruments may be combined, stops being previded for bringing into requisition and eliminating the tones of the different instruments, as required. 7 1

In addition to the features above reclted, rovision is madefor changing or transposmg the key of the music so that any air or melody may be played in any desired key.

In the accompanying drawings; Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section of an instrument embodying our invention. Fig. 2, is a hori-/ zontal section or plan view. Figs. 3 and 4 are detail views, the latter being a modifica tion. A designates a casing or cabinet having the key board B, with the keys arrangedin the usual order of white and black keys, representing, according to the conventional method, .the tones and semitones of the chromatic scale. These keys are pivotally mounted as in a piano or organ. Above the inner ends of the keys is arranged a horizontal rod C, on which are mounted, the levers I), having the arms (1, d, of which the arms d, carry the styluses or reproducing needles 6. The rod C is arranged with its ends in contact with or attached to the lever l of the sound box F, having diaphragm The sound box is supported by the framing of the instrument, and has a tube g, leading from its rear side to a sound conveying tube 9, provided with a trumpet G.

H designates the sound reproducing cylinder mounted on an arbor G, and preferably removable therefrom as in phonographs. The arbor Gis rotated by any suitable power, but, for the purposes of our invention, we prefer a pedal movement and suitable intermediate mechanism, including a speed governor, so, that the power may be under the control of the performer on the instrument, as in operating the bellows of an organ or melodeon. Springs, weights or other automatic power mechanism may be used when deisrable.

The sound grooves in the cylinder H are closed circles, and are produced in the origi nal or master cylinder, by rotating the recording cylinder in a circle without longitudinal feeding during the operation of recording. Each groove is produced by the action of the stylus of a recording diaphragm, while the cylinder is making a single revolution during the vibration of the diaphragm under the influence of a single prolonged tone, and the several grooves are the records of the tones of the musical scale, in proper sequence. When the cylinder bears only the sound records of a single instrument, as of a piano, or organ, the grooves will be located at regular intervals corresponding to the distance between centers of keys. When the cylinder bears the record grooves of several difierent kinds of instruments, the grooves repre senting the same note or tone of the scale will be grouped side by side and the rod C will carry as many levers D as there are notes or tones. As each key is intended to produce, when struck, the same tone of each instrument represented on the cylinder, the. tones are produced as required by means of stops, the mechanism for which is similar to that employed in organs. A stop for our instrument ma consist of a frame I with which is connecte 'the rod 'i, leading to the front of the instrument and having a knob 'i within easy reach of the performer as in an organ.

, to slide or turn on pivots, isjprovided with a .series of hangers is, located back of the inner ends of the keys, and having at their lower ends, tongues k projecting forward and above the upper surface of the keys. These tongues are preferably pivoted to the hang- This frame which is either adapted ers. When a stop is not in, use, the tongues. k are retracted, the knob and stem of the stop mechanism being pushed in so that the keys may be struck and their rear ends elevated without touching the stylus levers. -VVhen however a stop is drawn out, the tongues carried by its frame I are brought between the keys and the stylus lever and when the keys are struck, the tongues are raised thereby, and thus come in contact with and raise the downwardly extending arms (1 of the levers I), thus turning the levers on the rod C and causing the reproducing needles carried thereby to enter the record grooves in the cylinder H, corresponding to the pulled stop. As the cylinder H is in constant rotation during the playing of the instrument, the tone produced by the depression of a key will in the production of some tones be prolonged while the key is held down. Very unique and strikingly novel musical effects however will be produced by prolonging the tones of certain instruments, hitherto unappreciable and in fact impossible, except as staccato tones, and when this prolongation of tones is desired the cylinder will bear sound grooves produced from the tones of percussion or plucked instruments, and stops will be provided which will prolong such tones as long as a key is held down.

In an instrument having an extended or full key board such as that of a piano or organ, it will not be necessary to provide the same compass for each system of tones. Thus the sound grooves for the'cornet need. only be sufiicient to take in the usual compass of this instrument and its register may be the same as that of the comet, inother words the system or arrangement will be similar to that of the organ.

Instead of usin grooved cylinders, we may use one or more at disks as shown in Fig. 3.

The instrument embodying our invention is adapted to the reproduction of any sounds capab e of being resolved into a musical scale and therefore the tones producible by the or disks maybe reproduced as songs, airs or melodies wlthout words.

and desire'to secure by Letters Patent:

' prising tone records of di 'erent instruments, constituting a plurality of scales of coincident register and means for reproducing from said records their respective tones, separately or in any musical relation.

2. A sound reproducing instrument comprising a series of tone records arranged in the order of the musical scale, and comprising a plurality of scalesof coincident register I and means for performing on said instrument and reproducing said tones according to the l usual musical sequence and relation.

human voice and recorded on the cylindersv Having described our invention, we claim 1. A. sound reprodu'cin instrument, com-- 3. A sound reproducing instrument comprising records of the tones of a plurality of musical scales of coincident register and means for selecting and reproducing any individual tone ortone sequence or combination. c

4. A sound reproducing instrument comprising records of separate musical tones grouped to form a plurality ofscales of coincident register, a key board and means for reproducin tones by operating the keys on the instrument. 7

5. A sound reproducing instrument, com-- prising records of separate musical tones grouped in coincident scales, means for reproducing said ton-es, a key board through which said reproduction is controlled and means for coupling the reproducing means of each scale to a common key board.

6.- A sound reproducing instrument, eomprising records of the tones of a plurality of musical instruments of different quality or timbre, disposed respectively in the order or sequence of the musical" scale, the tones of one scale coinciding in pitch or register With tones of another scale and means for reproducing any of the recorded tones. I

7. A sound reproducing instrument, comprising records of the tones of different instruments, a key board through the medium of which the tones are reproduced at'will, reproducing means controlled by said key board, and stops for bringing the different series. of'reoords and their reproducing deprising phonographic records and reproducingdevices for simultaneously reproducing tones of aplurahty of different musical instru ments 1n unison.

10. A musical instrument comprising sev' eral scales of phonographic, single tone, records of different instruments, tones of one vscale being reproducible in unison With tones of another scale.

11. A musical instrument comprising several scales of phonographic, single tone, records of different instruments, tones of one scale being reproducible in unison with tones of another scale and means for bringing the different series of records into operation simultaneously or individually.

In testimony whereof We affix our signa ture, in presence'of two witnesses.

' THOMAS A. CON NOLLY.

JOSEPH BiCONNOLLY. Witnesses:

CLYDE B. WEIK RT, I. P IIIMEs. 

